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I recently wrote something that I really enjoyed working and am curious to the community here. It has been a long time for me to write anything Pokemon, so I am really happy to finally get this up.

Please hit this topic with any comments, good, bad or flame you wish to post. I really look forward to what you have to say.

So, without further ado . . .

- - - - -
Chapter 1
- - - - -

. . . This just in, "Disobedient Pokemon," apparently in many cities in the Kanto, Johto, and some Hoenn regions Pokemon have blatantly refused to become recalled and in some situations released themselves from their own Pokeballs. Fortunately, that was all that seemed to have occurred and few injuries resulted. Of those that were reported, a majority of them were due to Snorlaxes or Onixes being released at inappropriate times . . . and in the weather . . .

"This has been . . . a great push in the right direction," an old Sandslash grinned as he moved away from the Magnemite's beam projecting the news bulletin. "It is a great victory."

A roar of applause filled the area as the Pokemon who were listening
cheered.

"Now, now, children, settle down, settle down." He rasped with a firm tone. "We have much work yet to be fulfilled. Although this is a great step for humanity to realize Pokemon as equals, we have merely begun to scratch the surface. Soon, our debt to the humans will be paid for, and when that day comes, you, me, and our children will be on level with humans. We must make them realize that we are creatures too and that our battling one another is truly barbaric. With each step we take, we will fulfill that dream of Pokemon and Humans living together peacefully."

Another loud roar and cheers came from the crowd which was amplified by the low rock ceiling.

"We have no enmity for the humans for using us as tools of war or toys to play with. If anything it has taught both of us much about each other and life. But the time has come for things to change. We have grown from that war five hundred years ago, and I believe we are a new generation of Pokemon which has grown passed those atrocities. We have matured and evolved mentally at last!"

"Now, many of you might wonder what the next step would be, and this is what it is. On the next full moon - that should give everyone a chance to hear and make their choice - we will refuse to harm another Pokemon, unless it is to defend someone other than ourselves. I realize that there are some predatory Pokemon here today, and I understand your desire to eat, but I ask not on that day. You can eat well the day before and after, but on the next full moon, no harm will come from a Pokemon to another Pokemon."

"Now go, brothers, and may The Redwings triumph!" He exclaimed as he raised his claws high in the air.

- - - - -

"Another stirring speech, Greysand."

"Why thank you, Horace. I do say, though, these meetings wouldn't be half as successful if we didn't have such a dedicated group." The Sandslash smiled as he hobbled into the main hallway glowing with various flying bug Pokemon. He was very taken by the kind words; Horace, a strong-lipped Kadabra, always spoke with his harsh criticisms when they existed.

"Indeed, though I fear a few don't fully understand our cause . . ."

Greysand nodded slowly. "Yes, there are still a few who don't feel my methods excite the necessary change. It would be counterproductive if we become more extreme that what we are doing currently . . ."

Horace's eyes shot at Greysand's direction. "But isn't what we are currently doing too nice? Surely we can accomplish much more if we push a little harder."

"I would rather gain true equality slowly then a mock version quickly." He clicked his claws together at the door they had just walked up to.

Horace opened it psychically, "There is wisdom in those words . . . Still, I have often wondered if there was another way . . ."

With a low thud Greysand dropped his smooth stick cane in a hole and walked over to a mound of grass in the room and rested on top of it. The Oddishes that were tending the grass gave a happy bow and walked out of the room. "Horace, if you find a better way, please tell me about it."

"I will do my best sir." The Kadabra nodded. "Oh, and we just got word from the Pokemon Expeditionary Team, they will be returning sometime this evening."

"You mean he'll . . . but isn't it too early yet?"

"Apparently not, I received a mental message from Captain Yucca. He said he was quite pleased with the progress of this year's group and has taught them all he would normally teach and some he wouldn't . . . sadly."

The Sandlash nodded. "Yes, Captain Yucca isn't one to relieve his students until he feels he has completed their training." His eyes opened wide happily, revealing slight traces of cataracts. "My goodness, it has been almost a year now . . . I wonder what fine Pokemon you have become, son . . ."

Wow, thats interesting . . . never had a character limitation to worry about . . .

Well, part two of Chapter 1!

- - - - -

I have hated females. I always had hated females and I probably always will hate them. There is something about them that just doesn't strike me the right way; perhaps it's their affinity to groups instead of the power of independence, perhaps its their domestic mentality, or perhaps, as I have been told on numerous occasions, that I believe myself inferior to them and thus posses that enmity. You yourself can determine my earnestness on that last notion.

This, if you could imagine, has caused a wealth of opposition from both males and females - the males naturally impressing the female they are courting by siding with them. Such hypocrisy. Though it has occurred where a male has challenged my notions on their own behalf, whom I greatly respect, these rare few are hardly frequent enough to be a valid representation of my sex. For the females reading this - don't expect such an open minded guy to just walk by.

The best question posed me, I suppose, is "why." Usually I scoff at the notion and rebut a quick 'Mind your own business,' but that would only hide
my own uncertainty. Perhaps . . . I decided this at my birthplace . . .

I was born in the Ice Cavern of the Johto Region and I am a Magby. While you may find this odd, it truly makes a lot of sense. It's a testing ground to wild Magbies; we grow in the place where we are most challenged, to ensure our ferocity as we enter into adulthood. The cavern is also littered with Swinub and other such Ice-types which can be defeated quickly with fire attacks and whose flesh are sweet and full of nutrition. But what is the most significant reason is the little known fact that Smoochum eggs look identical to Magby eggs and the uninhibited aggression of a hunting Magmar could seriously injure its child.

Thus, I was born to a surrogate Jynx mother. Though I was very young, I do recall that she was a very odd creature. She'd drift dreamily from one place to another and never really seemed to realize that I was not the same as her Smoochum children. She must have noticed eventually, though. I mean, how long could you have a child which seared through ice wall after ice wall and was too hot to touch? Perhaps that was normal, but when you are a hatchling your vision tends not to expand beyond your mother and your siblings.

Siblings . . . yes, I did have siblings . . . three Smoochums. They were terribly dull, too, but what could one expect for creatures which discover things by touching them with their lips? Ha, once there was a time when they discovered one another and were 'kissing,' for a lack of a better term, one another. I, of course, was sitting on a rock watching all this intently. Suddenly, like Magnemite pulled to iron, their heads swiveled over my direction and their lips grinned wide. You cannot imagine my horror as my three 'sisters' began rushing me with puckered lips. In desperation, I rushed at a glacial wall and burned a quick escape, but to no avail. Eventually they realized, to my dismay, that they held psychic powers and could easily overtake me and bind my body with their minds. Simultaneously, despite my squeamishness, they kissed my face - and at the same time screamed a wail which almost rendered me deaf. In their gleeful chase, they failed to realize that I was a good thousand degrees hotter than them. I remember laughing though my tears as they each rushed at the ice to cool their lips only to have them get stuck to the frigid ice walls. After a while, momma Jynx found us and we helped my sisters from their own trap.

All this happened rather early in my life, and is very cloudy. Though difficult to say exactly how long I remained in that cave, I would guess three months, though my observations have determined that the first two months of a hatchling's life is spent in a helpless, mindless state. Realizing that I am saying that most of my birthplace memories occurred in the span of a month, I am sticking to my chronology. I do seem to recall that shortly after the kissing incident, I began my hate.

There is one memory of Ice Cavern which I remember perfectly. It was a failed Swinub hunt, and I was feeling pretty dejected and worn as I returned to momma Jynx and the three Smoochum. Whenever I failed to find anything to eat, it usually meant that I had to eat the frozen roots and berries that they found, which I absolutely hated. Even today I have troubled eating fruits frozen in the freezer. Nothing I did, ember, char, not even smoke would make them taste good. So, I was straggling in a vain attempt to prologue my hungry stomach from eating that distasteful food. Suddenly, I heard a sound behind me and turned only to see a yellow-striped black ball smack my face and swallow my body. I was so surprised, hungry, dejected, cold, worn, and lonely that I was an easy capture for the Ultraball. I've not seen the family I was born into ever since.

I remember in the ball it was very dark, and only my echoing thoughts greeted me in the secluded place. Here I was all but swallowed in despair, for at the time my thoughts were just as dark as the ball. Where was my mother and sisters? Where was my rescue? Why was I alone here? Will I always be here to remain for eternity? What was eternity? One thing I did recall, I hated where I was and if I could prevent it, I'd avoid this place with all my power. To this day I still do, for I am afraid of that dark . . .

Then, a voice echoed within my ball. At the time, in my seclusion, I thought it the voice of some deity. "Christine, I have a gift for you." Being the deity, and the one with the power to contain and release my being in this place, surely this was a creator of grand wisdom and power. Whoever this Christine was must have been either an equal or someone whom the deity cared for very much. Of course, I was a child then and my mind thought simpler thoughts but the effect was still the same.

With a snap and a flash, I appeared in a place the likes of which I have never seen before. It was made of . . . wood, I think I heard from the occasionally wilderness 'mon which wandered into the cavern. What's more significant though, I was staring eye-to-eye with a creature which looked like a pubescent Jynx, but in a certain sense, did not at all.

"Oh Daddy!" It screamed with particular glee. "He's sooooo cute! Is he mine? Can I keep him?" I looked up at the yellow haired creature's squeal, my eyes captivated by such a unique creature. Though very much so like my Smoochum sisters, her voice was much lower and, in my mind, much more pleasant to hear.

"Of course, my dear, but not today. In a couple of months you will go to the Pokemon Center and get your license. On that day, Magby will be yours."

"Magby? That's a stupid name." I was hurt. What was wrong with my name? "Hmm . . . you are red, like a rose . . . maybe Fireflower?" Desperately I shook a hurried 'NO!'

"Yeah! Magby, from here on your name will be Wildfire!" In disparity, I gave a slight nod - it was better than the other names. I don't know why, but then I had a feeling I was yet again bound unto this older Smoochum, and the pangs of distress quivering in my stomach. "Either that or Lumpy."

She came in and gave me a hug, and for some reason which I cannot tell, I didn't get as hot as I normally would have. There was something difference about this one, and I was curious to know what it was.

I retract my original remark, there is one female which I care greatly for, and that would be Christine. Shortly after my appointed servitude I learned where I was, and what the 'deities' truly were. And that was fine with me, really. These creatures known as humans as a whole were ingenious, being able to harness our power with their ingenuity to create a structure and civilization unheard of in the Pokemon community. At the time, I was curious find out what I could discover from these two.

Then came that inevitable catastrophe, I remember it quite vividly. I was learning to read human, gazing happily at Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham," when I came to a word that I couldn't read. By this time I learned to point and coo at a word and Christine would tell me how to read the word and what it meant. But I couldn't find her, and wandered aimlessly through her house. Then I heard footsteps in the bathroom . . . and though I knew that it was a special room where humans only entered one at a time, I grew used to walking in after hearing footsteps since it usually signified completion of their business. I opened the door. To my and Christine's horror, I accidentally walked in on her as she was taking a bath and I saw everything. The truth struck hard that my owner was the sex which I learned to hate the most. I was devastated. We were growing to like each other, going a full fourteen shifts of the sun and moon (which too was new to me) and suddenly I discovered that she was one of . . . them. That night and for nights to come I slept on the couch, away from Christine's soft, gentle snore.

A rift occurred between the two of us, which I regret to this day. Though for the days that followed Christine's betrayal I learned much more of the human world and their ways, I once again was alone in the cold world as I was in the Ice Cavern. During that time I learned that Christine's father was a field researcher for Silph's Johto region testing their products on Johto-exclusive Pokemon and often wasn't home. I learned the words and ways of the world as the humans saw and said them. I learned of the Pokeballs and all the wealth of human's knowledge (and fallacies) of Pokemon. I also learned that the humans died, as we tread a solemn path to the memorial of Christine's mother.

That's not to say she didn't try. I just wasn't ready. When she'd reach for me, I blazed infernally and made myself a dark flame of hatred. This occurred in many different ways, from food to physical touch to physical segregation. If I were her, I would have abandoned a vehement little cretin such as myself. But she didn't give up. Though my mind tells me that she just desired to prove herself an adequate trainer by breaking such a stubborn Pokemon in, my heart tells me otherwise. She had made a connection with me those first two weeks, and although my mind seemed to have changed after that accidental discovery, she was determined to fix whatever which separated us.

Two months went by, and Christine had all but given up. I had reduced her to a depressed shell much like myself. I couldn't say I was pleased, though. She was as kind as any creature, male or female, could possibly have been and I was what I learned to call an "asshole." Christine's father had returned by then, spouting joyful stories of the wonderful creations of Sylph. Apparently, they had decided to develop a factory in the Johto region, in a city called "Goldenrod" which would allow both he and Christine to live in the same city instead of the long stretch of isolation. She was pleased of this, but fidgeted at her food glumly and shooing away any questions of 'what is wrong?' I, of course, new full well . . .

The time came for Christine to receive her license, and she was just as disillusioned by the whole thing as I was with her. We were probably a sight, two creatures sauntering with our heads low. I was required to be with her to show the committee that she had a starter, Christine's father's idea entirely. While walking, Christine was chided harshly by this group of four girls for how pathetic we looked, "a loser and his trainer" they laughed. If it was possible for us to slink any lower, we did so as we entered the Pokemon League building.

If there was one thing I respected of Christine, it was her intelligence. It's not the kind of some unequivelent genius which possessed unique useless information, but rather it was an application of all her acquired knowledge at a problem. Especially at ten, she was very advanced logically than most her age. But, due to her depression she got the lowest score possible while still passing, a 71. Afterwards she slowly presented me as her Pokemon to the committee and received comments of "Magbies are a hard to train, are you sure?" and "He looks particularly rebellious, I dunno if a little girl like you can handle it." Despite this, she said "Yes, I am sure." It was a kind of stubbornness which you'd see in males . . . with a shrug, I returned to my shell.

With a happy sadness, we left the Pokemon League and were quickly wrung by the Carvanhas which greeted us earlier.

"Oooh . . . lowest score of the class, you are going to make an excellent trainer!"

"Well, at least we know we can beat SOMEone."

"Yeah, Chrissy, and your Pokemon is absolutely pathetic, I'd be surprised if you could beat a low-level Pidgey with him."

"SHUT UP!" came a retort which made the four of us stare agape. "Now I can see why Wildfire hates girls, he must have met people like you! People without kind words or thoughts for anybody and go about their own deluded lives tearing down others! And it's a shame, because . . . because . . . I know that we, people, can be better . . ."

There was a moment of silence while the girls digested those words. In the mental world, though, they were bulimic, as they quickly spewed the words out like yesterday's trash. "Strong words coming from a loser like you."

I broke. There are times of pure, unequivalent emotion and feeling which sing out to those with ears to hear. The fact that they were so deaf to her words was testament to their incompetence, and I wasn't going to let them . . . or myself prevent her glorious truth. In a fit of rage I shot what was my first flamethrower at those three girls and laughed as they screamed away desperately trying to put their clothes out rolling in the ground or trying to find water. It was a moment I cherished to this day.

To my surprise, Christine laughed. Loudly. It was not what I expected, but it felt . . . sheltered, happy. She leveled close and frowned. "Now, Wildfire it's not good to attack humans, even humans who deserve it." She grinned with a wink.

Tear-eyed, I embraced her, and for the first time I felt someone else's warmth.

The years we spent together flew by very quickly. We traveled to far off places and relished the many sights. I loved seeing all the new things and learning of what I had only begun to imagine. It’s a wonderful thing when you imagine something and then see it brought to life. My experiences couldn’t have been sweeter without Christine.

Christine was a trainer above and beyond what I’ve heard and seen. She let me stay out of my Pokeball, which I absolutely loathed; whatever food and supplies we found, we ate in even portions; if I or any of the other Pokemon we eventually caught were sick, she’d take us immediately to a Pokemon Center, no questions asked. We even had time for quiet reflection to gather our thoughts and feelings. During those times, she’d mostly talk to me, but I had grown used to it and would even add a few charades. If anything, the days we spent together bound us like a family, and I began thinking of Christine as an older sister rather than my ‘trainer.’

Our first journey lasted two years, battling trainers every opportunity we got. Rarely was there a time that anybody could defeat m, and it didn’t take long before we defeated the Gym Leader of Christine’s hometown, Pryce. (I heard that the gym leaders use stronger Pokemon depending on the number of badges you earned) But when we came to Boulder’s Ridge (also known as Route 45) the rock and ground types really slowed me down and it became obvious that I alone wasn’t going to be able to defeat everything we came across. Thus, we began searching for a new partner.

Not long after initiating our search we found what we were looking for. Walking down the sandbar near Violet City, we looked out at the ocean and saw a Furret skimming the water like a surfer, only without a board. I was ecstatic; for we were in the presence of a creature which had mastered an element I feared. Christine must have been quite taken too, because she hailed the mammalian snake and to our surprise it responded. Within seconds I was holding a conversation with the water-artist and asking if it’d like to join us.

I can never forget the response: “Oh wow, that’s totally cool, Pokemon trainers are the jinkiest peoples of them all!” Yes, that was verbatim.

Realizing immediately from her illogical statement that I was dealing with a female Furret without much brain matter, I nodded a quick “Yes” and pointed to Christine saying, “She’s a Pokemon trainer!”

“AWESOME! I WANNA COME!” She bubbled. Apparently the entire explanation and conversation only mildly resonated in her empty skull, but in the end we walked away with a surf-mastered Furret in Christine’s Pokeball which we decided to name ‘Slinky’. This capturing stuff isn’t that hard, we both thought.

Boy, were we wrong. The second Pokemon we captured was a very irate Flaafy, almost by accident. Although Christine was an excellent talker and listener, I still needed a little intellectual conversation from time to time. I have found that evolved Pokemon tended to be smarter than unevolved, so I would strike conversations with any evolutions willing to listen. Well, one day I met this Flaafy and we began talking. Without thinking about it I began telling the Flaafy about the illogical mentality of females and citing numerous instances as evidence. The Flaafy nodded along quietly, which was fine by me because I would dominate the floor with all my ideas. Well, telling all those ideas to a female isn’t the brightest thing to do in the world, especially a vengeful female Flaafy. Needless to say, I was nearly unconscious before Christine and Slinky were able to intervene. After a fierce battle, Christine caught the Flaafy and she has been a pain in my side ever since.

So, yes, at one point in my life I was in the company of two females, which really wasn’t much different from the Ice Cavern. My thought process began decaying because from their presence. Perhaps you’d be wondering how I managed to cope with such a desperate situation, the answer is simple: segregation; I acknowledged and honored their existence, but as far as conversation and just about anything else I would leave them alone, not unlike my childhood experiences. A common misconception of my distaste is that I don’t honor their importance. Females are very important, without them no creature could remain living, but their aptitude towards most everything else is questionable. I did eventually acquire a degree of respect for Slinky and Boomer though, many battles were determined because of them. Overall, though, I was the best fighter.

By this time, Christine realized that I separated myself from the group and felt I needed someone my sex to pal around with. She knew that our relationship was unbreakable, but I still held within me dissatisfaction for females and being outnumbered two to one was definitely not to my liking. So, somewhere between beating Falkner and going to beat Bugsy (we skipped Clair because she wouldn’t relent regardless what our skill level was) we found a Hitmonchan.

The thing I’ve learned about Hitmonchan, they are very prideful creatures. Their society revolves around a system of honor which usually is acquired by beating the other senseless. So the Hitmonchan gave me a quick punch to the face at the first invitation. We fought a fierce battle; I wasn’t going to let anybody intervene our incredible duel. The Hitmonchan clearly was fighting with all the training and honor it acquired through his life, and I was going to return his power with all the training and honor I earned being with Christine. Each jab he threw was followed by a Fire Punch to deflect it, every false movement I made came with a heavy price. After forty-three minutes, I’ve been told by Boomer, the Hitmonchan fell to its knees.

“I suppose . . . you are happy.” He panted. “You have finally beaten me. YOU HEAR THAT EVERYONE?” He cried out with rage. “THE FEMALE HITMONCHAN HAS FINALLY FALLEN! Go ahead and kill me, my life is not worth this . . . my life was never worth anything really . . .”

I was completely floored. Here I stood faced the Pokemon which gave me the battle where I felt the most soul and strength put into, and I was almost defeated by a female? In a fair competition nothing had come close to beating me, and yet this one . . . this one . . . had almost done it.

Flinching, I swallowed myself that day. “Miss, stand up, I have faced many strong fighters, but never had one put so much of themselves in the battle. It is unseemly to have such a glorious representative of your species buckle down when they are defeated.”

She looked like she wanted to cry, but her eyes were strong and hardened. “You are just saying that. You don’t know what type of dishonor being female is to me or my family. The pain that I had brought to them was only bearable as long as I was undefeated, and now . . . now . . .” Her fist pounded the ground, indenting a good three inch crater.

I waved over to Christine, who held a Great Ball intently. “Miss . . . trust me when I say I have little respect for your sex. But that battle we had was a testament to me that perhaps your sex has the potential to do great things. It would honor us if you came with us.”

She looked up. “It would . . . honor you . . ?”

“Yes.”

And that is how Christine caught her other three Pokemon which allowed her to earn two more badges undefeated. Show’s what those four Doduo’s knew when they were insulting us coming out of the Pokemon League Building . . .

After our first two years, Christine started feeling homesick right as she received a message from Christine’s father. He felt she was gone for far too long and wanted us home. We did, and what I originally thought was going to be a two-week, maybe a month stay dragged on for two years.

Christine’s father always had a strong sense for academic education to supplement Pokemon training. After two years away from the books, it was time for Christine to go back to school for a while. We glumly agreed. After all, what would a twelve-year old and a still-baby Magby going to do to convince a thirty-seven year old adult what’s best for us?

I didn’t mind hitting the books, though, as I always found such information fascinating and exciting. When we were out adventuring, we were limited to what we saw and could only fathom what we didn’t. In books we read and saw everything in distinct detail - velocity, diameter, molecules, metallurgy, magnetism, biomes, social sciences were revealed to us. It was hard on Christine; there were times when she wanted to throw down her books and scream, but I would tap her shoulder comfortingly and she’d get the strength she needed to move on.

Who the tranquil platitude probably affected the most of was Kael, the Hitmonchan. While she did understand the value of knowledge, she couldn’t sit still long enough to read books and often grew bored. Every so often we’d fight each other, which would settle her nerves as she’d visualize the fight and learn of her and my mistakes. A bit of a rivalry grew between the two of us - she wanted to avenge her pride by beating me and I didn’t want to lose to no girl. I think . . . I think our rivalry made us far stronger than if we were alone. She never beat me, but was still an amazing fighter and was never defeated by anyone else. We’d never admit it to each other, but I think we held a mutual respect.

One day, while Christine and I were studying, I took my eyes away from our studies and smiled at Christine. She had grown beautiful independent after our two years and I was proud of her. I think . . . my eye caught a glimpse of one of her pictures hanging on the wall. Something was odd, I thought, as I was looking at the picture: she looked different. After closely examining the picture I realized what had happened. Though it was so gradual that I didn’t realize it, Christine had begun to grow into a fine woman. After three years it became clear how much her appearance had changed from the day I saw a screeching ten-year old. Yet, it didn’t bother me. Christine was Christine and the changes she went through didn’t change who she was. Smiling broader, I held her arm tight and sat back down as she worked on another algorithm problem.

After our first year back home, Christine’s father’s Silph building was completed. So we moved from Mahogany to Goldenrod; we had been to Goldenrod in our journies, and had gotten so terribly lost that we didn’t even go to the Pokemon Gym. We were glad to simply find our way out into an easy, roomy, open field. But when the city became our home, we had no choice but to acquaint ourselves with the gigantic towers and confined streets.

Kael found something to do in Goldenrod – construction work. While the main building was completed, there were smaller subsidiaries that were needed to be built for product tests and research experiments. Seizing the opportunity to exercise, she volunteered herself and has since been leaving really early for an exhausting build. She’d often complained about the slander on the ground site from the other fighting-Pokemon, and we’d often fight it out to relieve her aggression. Her rage strengthened her skills at a feverish rate, and I may not be the victor much longer unless I find some serious training. The other two girls killed their time wandering around, seeing and listening to whatever they could find. I really didn’t know what they were up to most of the time, and truthfully didn’t really care so long as they came back OK . . .

Myself, I would wander the city trying to find trainers and Pokemon to fight if I wasn’t with Christine. Lately, that was becoming more common as she met a friend named John. Me being the good brother that I am, tried fight him off when he got too close once and was prohibited from being anywhere near the guy ever since. It doesn’t please me one bit, Christine became so strong by herself only to become dominated by some punk male. The indignity of it all . . .

Anyway, my usual hangout was in front of the construction site, watching Kael build and sweat. She worked harder, longer, and faster than anybody else on the crew and everybody knew it but didn’t want to acknowledge it. After all, we are talking a Pokemon species where a female comes along one Tyrogue out of every million, and to acknowledge one’s existence itself was highly irregular. She’d get verbally slammed (obvious ones too, exactly what you’d expect from muscle-heads) which she’d brilliantly shrugged them off. I knew she would have killed for less, knowing her, but she wanted the job. But just because she wouldn’t fight her assailants didn’t mean that I couldn’t and shortly I became known as ‘Kael’s baby boyfriend.’ That’s OK, though, they all knew that I was strongest and would come down hard if they were to snip Kael. We were partners, after all. All things considered, we had more fun in Goldenrod than we ever did in Mahogany.

There was this one time though; I was consumed by an itch. The itch was so strong that I had no choice but to put all my concentration on it and could hardly do much of anything, even eat. It didn’t take long for Christine to realize that something was wrong. At first she thought it was some kind remission of my segregation of females entirely, including her. I diminished that thought though, by hugging her and crying, and she realized that something was seriously wrong for me to express such feminine emotions.

“He’s purposefully stopping his evolution.” was the synopsis of the Nurse Joy. “Usually when Magbies reach a certain level or age they evolve automatically, but this one is going against that and is trying desperately to remain what he is.”

Christine’s eyes fell to me, which I could barely make out because I had to close my eyes to keep the itch from taking over. “Wildfire, wouldn’t you be stronger as a Magmar? I’d think you’d be happy.”

I was able to find enough mental energy to shrug a ‘no’ and curled into a ball right in front of her. Maybe if I push against my body the itch would stop. I was thinking.

“There are many reasons why a Pokemon wouldn’t evolve. Maybe he has a pride in being a Magby, or maybe he associates his experiences with you with being a Magby, or maybe he is afraid that you wouldn’t like him as a Magmar. Why, even one time there was a Pokemon who was afraid of hurting his trainer after he evolved .”

“Or maybe it’s a combination of all of those . . .” I thought inwardly, taking a mental breath away from my concentration.

“Magby, do you not want to be a Magmar?”

I nodded a ‘yes.’

“Well, what can we do, Nurse Joy?”

“Well . . . usually we don’t give these out, but in your case it’s the best alternative.” She handed Christine something that she stared at. “It would stop his pain immediately.”

“I’ve heard of these, trainers use these to manipulate a Pokemon’s evolution so they could become more docile. It’s a level of control.”

“Yes, but in this case it’s your best choice.”

I could hear her pace a second. “Usually we both decide what we should do . . . I’d feel like I’d be betraying our friendship if I just put this on him.”

Nurse joy swished over at me and returned to Christine. “You’re sentiments are touching, but he can’t choose now. You could always give him a choice of the method after . . .”

“Okay, let’s do it.”

I felt something small and smooth wrapped around my neck. Whatever it was, it completely stopped the itch from driving me insane. Very happy I sat up and looked down at what was around my neck.

It was a small crystal embedded into a fire retardant necklace. Glowing purplish, it looked like the very center of a hot flame, and I thought it very pretty.

“It’s an Everstone,” Christine explained, “it absorbs your evolutionary energy and prevents you from becoming a Magmar. If you don’t want to wear it anymore, point to it and I’ll take it off.”

Nurse Joy piped in. “Keep in mind that if the collar is taken off, he would feel all that evolutionary energies again. If he tried to fight it without the stone you’d have what we just saw not to long ago.”

I knew the Nurse was trying to explain the situation for Christine, but I was already convinced that this means was appropriate. Her comment made me realize the collar was a restriction and I was its prisoner. I never liked to be at the mercy of anything, and now, I was at the hands of a purplish stone right underneath my chin.

There was a hint of anticipation as the students of Capitan Yucca’s group became visible from the top of the Redwing’s hilltop. They were still far off in the horizon, but all the families were jumping with delight. These few Pokemon were the physical and mental elite of the entire colony of Pokemon and were given the assignment of traveling the entire Johto region to learn of the world. It was always a celebration when they returned, for they were their family’s pride and brought with them news and trinkets of the world outside.

Greysand was always there on the day of the troupes’ arrival, but today he was especially pleased to see his son return. He was a bright young Sandshrew with a quick wit and strong beliefs. Greysand was often remorseful that he had bourn him so late in his life, but that didn’t stop his tending to and playing with his child.

The troupe had finally arrived, and with a quick fall of Capitan Yucca’s powerful claws, the young Pokemon rushed to the open arms, paws, legs, necks of their parents.

The young Goldson came quickly to his father and hugged him. Greysand embraced his son and muttered a soft, “You have no idea how much I missed you.”

With a grin, Goldson responded, “Me too. I have much to tell you.”

“Later, my boy, later: right now I have to perform my duties” The old Sandshrew stood atop of a huge boulder and boomed with a low voice. “Redwings, this is indeed a great honor. For over three seasons we have been without your presence, and at last you return gracing us with your treasures, your stories and most importantly, you. If you look around now you will see that we were all supporting you, hoping for the day when you return to us. It is testament of your excellence that you came earlier than any group before you. We commend you all!”

There was a great cheer and applause from everybody, which was quickly brought down with Greysand’s waving claws. “Now, Capitan Yucca . . .” Greysand motioned with a chuckle, all the young Pokemon in the troupe also gave a sharp laugh and held malicious grins. “I understand there was a bit of a wager that they wouldn’t be able to get home this early . . .”

The Scizor covered his head as he shook it. “Yea . . . I did. Who’da thought that we’d ‘ave such a dedicated group . . .”

“I’ve even heard that you tried to teach them how to make baskets to waste time?” A laugh swept across the audience. If it was possible for Scizors to get any redder, Capitan Yucca was it.

“Yea . . . yea I did. And I never would’a thought that them four-leggers would be so keen to pick it up too. Well, lets get this over with.”

“You are definitely and admirable Pokemon who keeps his word. Alright kids, go for it!” And one by one each of Capitan Yucca’s troupe, for all that he did to tease them, was returned by a swift kick in the thorax.

“You think he’ll be OK?” Horace muttered, less than amused.

Greysand was grinning ear to ear. “He shouldn’t have made the wager if he didn’t think he could take . . . ooh . . . that one looked like it hurt.”

- - - - -

“You could imagine Charlie’s reaction when Capitan Yucca said the best way to get him down was by chopping the tree!”

Goldson and Greysand were sitting musing over the time that they were apart. Goldson was telling the misadventures of his best friend during the expedition, Charlie.

“He sounds pleasant, maybe a little rash, but I think he’d be a good friend for you.” Greysand commented as he snacked on dried berries. “We had quite an experience here too, you could imagine; many successful silent protests bringing our cause before the humans. There were a few less than pleasurable ones too, mostly from Pokemon who still don’t get it. But after thirty years more of this we should finally have gained true equality. The only shame is, you would probably be the one to see it . . . I’d probably pass away.”

“I still don’t understand why we couldn’t be more assertive before the humans. Why can’t we get our equality a month from now instead of thirty years?” Goldson slumped, staring at his specially cooked dish.

“For one, a quick method never has worked. It has only caused confusion followed shortly by anger and completely destroys the initial intent. Also we still have to atone for what had happened five hundred years ago, and so . . .”

“There was no war five hundred years ago . . .”

Greysand stood up, a vein protruding out of his sagging sand-like skin. “WHAT did YOU just say?” His back quills began shaking wildly.

“We were examining the Stone Wall when we came upon the Future and Past Room. When it was finally my turn to enter, I saw the letter-creatures move in front of my eyes. They wrapped around me, much like the stories of the others who’ve entered there, and placed themselves on the wall. I’ll never forget what the words said – ‘A great lie will become revealed.’ and ‘A leader will rise from the ashes of the hundred-years war.’”

Greysand and Horace became deathly silent. The Future and Past room was never wrong, and if the implication of what had been revealed to Goldson was true . . . “The Future and Past room always changes and is quite vague. Your interpretation of what it said could be anything from . . . THAT to the realization that the berry mash is really cornmeal with berry flavoring.” Horace finally broke the silence.

Goldson was now the one to stand up. “But what if it’s true? What if the entire Pokemon War was made up by the humans to control us? Or maybe the humans almost killed one another off, and our ancestors intervened and became the outlet for human aggression? What if the entire time we emptied ourselves to servitude was not necessary? For almost five hundred years our descendants could have been FREE if not for an inexcusable lie!”

With a puff and a sip from the steaming earthenware glass, Greysand sat down and mumbled. “Preposterous. Our kind was dealt the hand we were given and we have done very well with it if I do say so myself. With time our atonement will be complete and our ancestor’s transgressions paid in full. That is how it will be until that day thirty years from now . . .”

Horace, however, remained speechless.

Shaking his head, the young Sandshrew burst out the doorway and into the hall.

Greysand puffed another breath into his glass. “He’ll be fine in time, but I suspect that you would want to go to the Stone Wall to see for yourself . . ?” Horace nodded, “Then I will not stop you.”

With that, Horace teleported to the Stone Wall.

- - - - -

It had taken some searching, but Horace had finally found the entrance to the Past and Future room. He had never been there himself, but had heard often of the place and was quite amazed by the simplicity of the structure. The entrance was made of dull-blue granite and notched with the letter-creatures spelling out “Fortum.”

With a slight shiver of uneasiness, he entered the room. At first glance, one would suspect only a simple room made of marble, but as the Kadabra touched the circular plate in the middle, the room began to glow a dull white color. The little letter creatures started appearing from nowhere and swarmed around Horace, making him feel a little claustrophobic. His psychic senses told him that they were analyzing his psyche, probably to determine what part of the past and future they were to reveal.

Within seconds, they began placing themselves at the wall to the right of where the entrance was, while others placed themselves to the left. Horace turned towards the entrance and realized that the door was designed to not allow any other creature see the words that were now in front of his own eyes.

He felt the movement of the sprites stop, and he opened his eyes to the glowing wall to the right. “The son of the sand dweller will bring balance to the world.” With a nod and a grin, he smiled at this supposed prophecy: an indication, no doubt, of Goldson’s future greatness.

He turned behind him, and was almost stricken by the words before him. “The coming of the new order will be marked by the death of the old.” What could this have meant? Was Goldson speaking the truth? Was Greysand wrong?

Horace’s eyes drifted down at the metal circle, which he saw was the ‘eye’ of the letter creatures. A deep doubt quivered in his heart as he realized Greysand and his soft-spoken ways were dead.

- - - - -

[/end Chapter 2]

As usual, please post crits or any thoughts you have! Much appreciated.

Nice chapters Indeed! I like Horace, he seems cool. The storyline in your fan-fic makes me want to continue to read, more and more, making it more interesting, after each paragraph, great job all around, and I hope that you keep writing more chapters .

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